1. MANAGING STRESS
Crime Scene Investigation/Law Enforcement

2. WHAT CAUSES STRESS?
 Imagine that it is early in the morning and you
are fast asleep. Suddenly, your alarm clock
sounds. You sit up quickly, open your eyes, and
jump out of bed. As you react to the ringing
alarm, you experience stress.
 Stress is a reaction of your body and mind to
threatening or challenging events in your life.
 You experience stress when situations,
events, or people make demands on your
body and mind.
 These demands are often a part of your daily
routine.

3. WHAT CAUSES STRESS?
 Many different situations, events, and people
can cause stress. The causes of stress are
called stressors.
 Examples of STRESSORS:
 Your alarm clock
 Upcoming Tests
 Athletic games
 Arguments with friends
 Arguments with Parents
 Trouble at school

4. WHAT CAUSES STRESS?
 What are some other causes of stress? Talk
with your tablemates and come up with a list
we can discuss.

5. MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
 In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and
Richard Rahe decided to study whether or not
stress contributes to illness. They surveyed
more than 5,000 medical patients and asked
them to say whether they had experience any of
a series of 43 life events in the previous two
years.
 Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU),
had a different "weight" for stress. The more
events the patient added up, the higher the
score. The higher the score, and the larger the
weight of each event, the more likely the patient
was to become ill.

6. MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
 Look at the “Ranking of Stressors by High School
Students”.
 Most of these stressors are major life changes,
especially changes that affect one’s family or
school life. These changes are stressful
because they threaten the person’s sense of
security or self-esteem. Each change is
measured in “life-change units” and given a
score. The number of life-change units you
accumulate during a year is one way to measure
the amount of stress you experience.

7. MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
 As you look over the stressors listed in the chart
in front of you, notice that the list includes some
positive changes as well as negative ones.
While being accepted to the college of your
choice is indeed as positive event, it can be just
as stressful as a negative event. It is important
to realize that change, both positive and
negative, is in itself, stressful.
 How many of you went to District or State
competition last year??? Nationals???? Was
that stressful???

8. MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
 Look through the list of stressors. On a
separate sheet of paper, add up the points
value for any stressors in your life for THE
LAST YEAR. We will discuss the
significance of your score here in a little
while. You will not have to share anything
with the class (if you don’t want too), but you
should know the significance of your LCU
score and how it affects your health and well
being.

9. MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
 Is there anything that is NOT on that list that
you think should be there?? Lets’ talk about
them. They may not be on your list, but do
have a LCU assigned to them.

10. EVERYDAY PROBLEMS
 Some of the most common stressors are not
listed on the list I gave you. These common
stressors are sometime called “hassles”, -minor,
but frequent, everyday events that cause you
stress. Hassles include misplacing or losing
something, being concerned about how you
look, forgetting an important item, and having
too many things to do at once. While such
problems seem minor, they contribute greatly to
your overall feeling of stress. This is because
hassles occur day in and day out. Can you
remember a day in the last month that was free
of hassles……??? Probably not.

11. PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS
 Conditions in your immediate surroundings
affect your level of stress each day. Consider
your bus ride to school each day – is it
pleasant? Is the bus crowded? Is it hot/cold?
Your level of stress might be quite high by the
time you arrive at school.
 A major stressor that occurs all around you but
is often overlooked is noise.
 Living in high traffic areas
 Extreme weather conditions like snow, drought,
excessive heat
 Living in unsafe, crowded or polluted areas
 Earthquakes
 Fires
 Other major catastrophes

12. SHARPEN YOU SKILLS
 Coping with Change
 Select three life events from the list with your
partner. List three things that a person could do
to make each event less stressful.

13. SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS
 Herbert Walker, MD, clinical professor of
psychiatry at New Your University Medical
School in New York City, believes that people
can learn to deal with stress by writing about
their problems. Walker recommends getting
in the habit of recording something each day
in a “stress diary”. He suggests that
individuals record stressful incidents, tell how
they handled them, and explain other, better
ways in which they might have handled the
problem.

14. OTHER STRESSORS
 Another major source of stress for teenagers
is worrying about the future.
 Graduation
 Jobs
 Military
 College
 Living arrangements
For teenagers, all of these decisions as you
approach then end of High School can be VERY
stressful.

15. OTHER STRESSORS
 Conflict – disagreements with family members,
friends, and others - is another source of stress for
teens. Some teens experience more conflict than
they did when they were young or disagree over
different issues. These conflicts can be very
stressful. Another source of stress is special events
- dates, team tryouts, job interviews, and more.
Think about special events that you have
experienced over the past few months. Where those
events stressful for you?
 Think of some think coming up here at the CTC that
could be stressful?? What are they??

16. POSITIVE STRESS AND NEGATIVE STRESS
 Stress is POSITIVE when it promotes growth and
accomplishment. Positive stress is sometimes
called eustress. Negative stress, on the other
hand, is called distress.
 Think about something you have accomplished
lately – You may remember the feelings you
experienced before and during the event. Do you
think you performed better as a result of the
stress?
 Competitions
 ACT Test
 ASVAB Test
 TSA in your SKILLS Area
 Eagle Scout
 What are some other accomplishments??

17. POSITIVE STRESS AND NEGATIVE STRESS
 Research has shown that, at moderate
levels, stress can actually improve your
ability to concentrate and perform at your
best. Beyond that level, however, stress
begins to take a negative toll on
performance.
 List ten stressful experiences you have faced
since school started. Next to each one, note
whether it was a positive or negative
experience for you.

18. Stages of Stress
HOW STRESS AFFECTS THE BODY

19. STAGES OF STRESS
 As soon as you perceive something to be a
stressor, your body springs into action. Your
body’s response is automatic – like your
heartbeat, it is not under your control. All
stressors – from serious ones like life
threatening situation, to moderate ones like
an upcoming test – trigger the same stress
response in your body, although at different
levels of intensity.

20. STAGES OF STRESS
The body’s response to stress
occurs in three stages -
The alarm stage
The resistance stage
The exhaustion stage

21. ALARM STAGE
 Scenario: You are on a peaceful walk
through a forest in Colorado. Just as you are
enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of
the forest, a huge grizzly bear appears in
front of you. How do you react?
 You determine that the bear is a threat, and
that you do not have the resources to handle
the situation.

22. ALARM STAGE
 When your walk in the forest began, your mind
and body were in a state of balance.
 Your mind was at ease
 All of your body’s systems were functioning normally
This normal, balanced state is called
homeostasis.
When you saw the bear, homeostasis was
disturbed and you entered the first stage of
stress, the alarm stage.

23. ALARM STAGE
 In the alarm stage, your body releases a substance
known as adrenaline into your bloodstream. Adrenaline
causes many immediate changes in your body:
 You get a immediate burst of energy
 Your heart beats faster, increasing blood flow to vital
organs and muscles
 Your breathing quickens to provide oxygen for your
body’s activities
 Your muscles tighten, making you ready to run or fight
 Less blood flows to your skin and digestive system,
leaving more for vital organs and muscles
 Your pupils widen, allowing more light in
 You feel a lump in your throat as your throat muscles
contract to help open the airways to your lungs and make
breathing easier

24. ALARM STAGE
 As your body responds to
the stressor, your mind
also reacts. During the
alarm stage, you become
more aware of things
going on around you.
 These changes only take
a few seconds, but once
they have taken place,
you are ready to react.
 You have two choices:
 Stand and Fight
 Run

25. ALARM STAGE
 This immediate reaction of the body to stress
is called the fight or flight response, because
the changes prepare you to either “fight” the
stressor or “take flight” and escape.

26. FIGHT OR FLIGHT
 Scientists believe that the fight or flight
response was essential for primitive people
who had to survive wild animals and other
dangers. Today, the same reaction occurs
with any serious stressor. When faced with a
challenge, such as a difficult test or
competition, your body reacts with the same
physical changes, to different degrees.
These changes make it possible for you to
chose between fight or flight.

27. ALARM STAGE

28. RESISTANCE STAGE
 What do you do if it is not possible to fight or
take flight? In such cases, if the stressor
continues or doesn’t kill you, you enter into the
resistance stage of the stress response. During
this stage, the body tries to recover from the
alarm of the first stage. Because the stressor
still remains, the body cannot restore
homeostasis. Instead, the body continues to
function at a higher-than-normal level. The
body uses a lot of energy in the resistance
stage. As a result, you may become tired,
irritable, and less able to handle any additional
stress.

29. CATASTROPHES

30. EXHAUSTION STAGE
 If the stressor still continues,
you may enter the
exhaustion stage, the third
stage of the stress response.
In the exhaustion stage, the
body is worn down and no
longer has enough energy to
fight of the stressor. As your
body’s balance remains
disturbed, you become more
susceptible to illness. Your
ability to make judgments
and to interact with others is
impaired. In extreme cases,
the exhaustion stage can
lead to unhealthy behavior,
serious illness, or even
death.

31. EXHAUSTION STAGE
 The exhaustion stage does not occur with
each stress response. If it did, your body
would wear out. Exhaustion occurs only if a
stressor continues for a long time – usually
weeks, months, or even years. People often
enter the exhaustion stage when they
experience stress that is beyond their control
– such as divorce, a death, or another
serious family problem.
 Discuss PTSD

32. RECOGNIZING SIGNS OF STRESS
 How can you keep stress under control and
prevent the resistance stage or the
exhaustion stage form occurring?
 The first, most important step in
controlling stress, is recognizing when
you are under stress.

33. RECOGNIZING SIGNS OF STRESS
 Look at the early warning signs of stress. As
you look over the list, think about how you
act and feel when under stress. From the
list, select those reactions that apply to you.
List them on a sheet of paper and title it “My
Warning Signs of Stress”. Add to your list
any other reactions you have. The next time
you experience some of your warning signs,
you will know that you are under stress.

34. RECOGNIZING SIGNS OF STRESS
 Recognizing when you are under stress will
soon become automatic. You may begin to
notice patterns – perhaps you always show
signs of stress when you haven’t had enough
sleep, for example. You may be able to cut
down on such avoidable stressors. By
recognizing these signs early, you may also
be able to prevent some of the more serious
effects of stress.

35. STRESS AND INJURIES
 When you are under a lot of stress, it can
interfere with your ability to focus and think
clearly. Unfortunately, when people are
distracted and preoccupied with other things,
they are more likely to injure themselves and
others.
 Car accidents
 Bike accidents
 Job related accidents

36. STRESS AND ILLNESS
 By itself, stress does not usually cause
serious illness. Most people experience
stress from time to time, but regain
homeostasis quickly. Severe or prolonged
stress, how-ever, can affect your health. It
can lower your resistance to illness, and it
can make some diseases harder to control.

37. PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESSES
 You may have heard the term
psychosomatic illnesses to
describe stress related illnesses.
Psycho means “of the mind” and
somatic means “of the body”.
Psychosomatic illnesses are
physical disorders that result from
stress or other emotional causes.
 These illnesses are evidence of
the ways in which the mind affects
the body.
 Some people think that
psychosomatic illnesses are
imagined, or that they are “all in
your mind”. This is not true.
Psychosomatic illnesses are real
physical disorders that are either
brought on or made worse by
stress.
Survival oriented behavior
holes

38. LOWERED RESISTANCE
 The immune system protects the body from disease
through a complicated process involving a number of
specialized body cells. When you speak of fighting off the
flu or a cold, the immune system does the fighting. When
your immune system functions well you hare able to resist
some illnesses to which you have been exposed.
 Scientific research has shown that prolonged stress can
prevent the immune system from functioning well. If your
immune system is not working well, you may have some
minor illnesses, such as colds and flu, more often. For
people with diseases such as cancer, a weakened
immune system may worsen their condition.
 Some researchers feel that a major stressful or traumatic
event can lower disease resistance for a year or more.

39. ULCERS
 An ulcer is an open sore in the lining of the
stomach or other part of the digestive tract.
For some people, stress increases the
amount of acid in the stomach, which
worsens the ulcer and can prevent it from
healing.

40. ASTHMA
 People with asthma, a disorder o fht
respiratory system that makes breating
difficult, may react to stress with an asthmatic
attack. Durnign an asthmatic attack, the
person coughs, wheezes, and gasps for air.
Although these symptoms usually can be
controlled with medication, people with
asthmaneed to recognize their bodies’
reactions to stressors so that they can
manage serious asthma attacks.

41. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART DISEASE
As you already read, stress
increases the blood flow in the
body. Long periods of stress, then
can lead to high blood pressure.
Because high blood pressure has
no obvious symptoms and often
goes undetected, it is sometimes
referred to as “the silent killer”. If it
is not controlled, high blood
pressure can lead to heart disease
and stroke.
Stress also contributes to heart
disease in other ways. Because
the heart must work harder when
under stress, prolonged stress can
damage the heart muscles. Over
time, this can increase a person’s
risk of heart attacks.

42. Personalities
MANAGING STRESS

43. MANAGING STRESS
 Although stress is a part of life, it does not have to
control your life. You can do many things to keep
stress under control.
 Managing stress helps to restore balance in your
life – it prevents the stressors from taking control
and making you ill.
 In a sense, everything that you do to maintain your
health is a way to manage stress. Eating well,
exercising regularly, expressing your feelings, and
saying no to alcohol and other drugs – these are all
ways in which a healthy person manages stress. But,
you can do more.

44. MANAGING STRESS
 Confront the problem
 Time Management
 Poor time management is one of the biggest
contributors to stress.
 Physical Activity
 Relaxation
 Mental Rehearsal